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Partner Notification and the Threat of Domestic Violence Against Women With HIV Infection

Creator

North, Richard L.

Rothenberg, Karen H.

Bibliographic Citation

New England Journal of Medicine. 1993 Oct 14; 329(16): 1194-1196.

Abstract

The general assumption is that it makes good sense from the standpoint of public health, for a patient to notify sexual partners of his or her positive HIV status....If a patient does not disclose her positive status to partners, health care providers and public health authorities are expected to trace and notify them. Notification protocols must be reexamined in the light of another epidemic affecting women -- the epidemic of domestic violence....To minimize the risk of violence to an HIV-infected woman, pre- and post-test counseling must include a safety plan if the physician intends to notify the partner. Notification must be delayed until a plan is in place to protect the patient from harm. Of course, if there is no indication of a risk of violence against the woman, the provider should follow public health directives with respect to partner notification.

Partner notification has emerged as an important strategy in the
fight against acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and states have now
adopted a plethora of laws that encourage or mandate notification, often
without ...